The Arizona Sundogs led 3-0 midway through the contest but the Rapid City Rush stormed back to pull even with three unanswered tallies before Josh Beaulieu netted the game-winner in the fifth round of the shootout Friday night at Tim's Toyota Center in Prescott Valley. Scott Reid turned away 35 of 38 shots through 65 minutes of play and three of five skaters in the shootout in his first appearance with Arizona since being signed by the team on Monday. Danny Battochio finished with 49 saves, his biggest on the night coming with 12 minutes remaining in the second period. Less than a minute after going up 2-0, Craig Macdonald had a golden opportunity to stretch his club's lead to three but Battochio reached a leg pad save at the near post after a pass through the slot found Macdonald's stick. Rookie defenseman Brett Blatchford afforded Arizona a 1-0 lead at the game's 14:53 mark, capitalizing on a full two-minute 5-on-3 power play in the second half of the opening frame after simultaneous roughing and interference penalties to Kevin Harvey and Scott Kalinchuk. Stationed at the top of the left circle, Blatchford one-timed a Macdonald pass from the near corner short side past Battochio for his second goal in eight games since joining the Sundogs. Shots were 14-6 in favor of the Sundogs through 20 minutes of play. Former Rush teammates Jamie VanderVeeken and Luke Erickson figured into the game's second score, extending Arizona's lead to two 7:22 into the middle frame. Recording their team's second power-play goal of the contest, Erickson gained the offensive zone before dropping a pass to VanderVeeken between the circles for a blast high blocker side past Battochio. Erickson's second point of the game and 35th goal of the year with 6:36 remaining in the second period opened a three-goal cushion for Arizona. Converting on a 3-on-1 rush, Erickson tapped his own rebound into the back of the net after Patrick Schafer snuck a feed across the top of the goal mouth. Cam Keith also assisted on the play. Scott Wray cut Rapid City's deficit to two with a shorthanded marker at the second period's 16-minute mark, tapping a Konrad Reeder centering effort beneath the right leg pad of Reid as the netminder moved post to post. A pair of Rapid City goals less than three minutes into the third period tied game at three. Colt King converted on a power play 39 seconds into the final frame to close the Rush to within one before a Derek Leblanc turnaround shot in the high slot beat Reid stick side at the 2:45 mark. Ryan Menei also scored in the shootout for the Rush while Joey Sides tallied Arizona's lone shootout marker. The Sundogs finished 2-for-8 with the man advantage while Rapid City converted once on six power play opportunities. Arizona (25-30-10) closes out the 2010-11 regular season tomorrow at 7:05pm (Arizona time) against the Rush. Tickets start at just $12 and are available by phone at 1-866-4-GET-TIX (1-866-443-8849), online at www.GetTix.net and in person at the Tim's Toyota Center Box Office.
